Every Destination Highway will have ten miles of fame - Andy Warhol
DH69 is a brilliant, but often misunder- stood piece of work. The long,
straight line of asphalt drawn at its western end invites heavy criticism as
it fails to curve for 15.0 mi (24.0 km) through the windswept desolation of
the French Valley. Many donít appreciate that from an abstract perspective,
this long straight of banality east of Omak is cleverly designed to
anaesthetize the rider and give greater effect to the fluid, 10.0 mi (16.0 km)
canvas of artistically paved and engineered curves that brush up and down off
the low Coyote Creek summit on a silk screened background of tall, thick
trees. Meanwhile, the unattractively embellished few miles west of Nespelem is
the DHís subtle way of summing up the spirit of our society and times. For
eccentric, avant-garde motorcycle roads such as this, it is not the number or
intensity, but the manner in which curves are presented that gives them their
meaning. But is it art? Not everyone agrees. Just look what happened to
Warhol. In 1968, he was shot by a member of SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men).
Letís just hope WSDOT (Washington State Destroyers Of Twistiness) isnít quite
so radical.